Foreword by Tim Rice

Back in the early fifties I became an annual fan. By that I mean an Annual fan. Whether it was Eagle Annual or the Beano Book, Wisden or Ruff’s Guide To The Turf, Old Moore or the Guinness Book Of Records, there was something about the yearly round-up in almost any field that I found irresistible. And one year in the Annuals shelves of Smith’s in St. Albans I discovered Giles. Who was this genius with only one name who had come up with a goldmine of fun just in time for my Christmas stocking?

Every year since I have waited, not always in St. Albans, for the unmistakable shape and sparkle of the latest Giles collection to appear. Immediate purchase is essential and a wonderful investment, because one viewing of a Giles cartoon is never enough. There are always six or seven other comic ideas in every picture, in addition to the principal gag.

I no longer wonder what Giles’ surname is, but I still wonder at his unstoppable flow of brilliance with word and line. He has seen off many rival annuals (though Wisden looks set to run a while yet) and is moving towards half a century of pre-eminence. In the world of theatre he would be Olivier and The Mousetrap combined, in his world it is enough to say he is Giles.